Why must Google buy Motorola? China!

It's undeniable the biggest reason why Google must buy Motorola is the big telecommunication related patent portfolio owned by the mobile phone maker. However, there is another reason why this deal is important to the growth of Google.

Android is free, period. Google does not make a dime from Android when a smartphone maker adopts its mobile OS. Google has said many times that it intends to make money back from Android from increased web search activities, which in turn brings profit to its web advertising business. It sounds great, except that Google search is not available in Mainland China. Yes, even if every single smartphone sold in China is powered by Android, Google will not make a single penny there. At the same times, it does not look like Google plans to change its Do No Evil strategy and allow China to censor its web search.

So, how can Google profit from the mobile market in China? How about making smartphones? Motorola has been doing business in China for a long long times. It is a well-known brand among Chinese. By making smartphones through Motorola, Google can earn cash from Android through a totally different strategy.

The more we look at the deal, the more we can appreciate the smartness of Google ... let's hope that they really do not plan to be evil!

[UPDATE] Nook Color (Honeycomb) as a GPS Navigation Device - HD

How to turn your Nook Color into a GPS

What do you need:

1. An Android phone that's capable of Wifi tethering
2. A rooted Nook Color that can make use of your wifi-tethering phone's network. The easiest way to achieve this is to get a custom ROM. CM7, Honeycomb, etc. I am using the Honeycomb Preview.
3. An app called TetherGPS
   

Prepare your Android phone

1. You must have an Android phone. An iPhone, or any other smartphone won't work. 3G modems won't work neither.
2. You *must* have a rooted phone (preferrably w/ a custom ROM. I use CyanogenMod 7 on my Droid Original.)
3. Install Wireless Tether for Root Users (FREE) to your phone.
4. Install TetherGPS to your phone.
   It's not free. However, there's a free version that will work for 5 minutes. You can re-use it by turning it off and on again.
5. Add the TetherGPS Server widget to your home screen

Prepare your Nook Color

1. You *must* have a rooted Nook Color (preferrably w/ a custom ROM. I use the Honeycomb preview.)
2. Install Adhoc Wifi Support to your Nook Color.
3. Install TetherGPS on your Nook Color
4. Add the TetherGPS Client widget to your home screen

Tethering

1. Launch the Wireless Tether app on your phone. Then click the big icon to activate tethering
2. From your Nook Color's wireless setting, connect to the wireless network created by your phone
3. Turn on your Nook Color's TetherGPS Client widget
4. Turn on your phone's TetherGPS Server widget

NOTES

1. If the TetherGPS Server is serving location data, in the notification of your phone, you will see a status stating the data is being served on an IP address. If it's not serving location data, the status will be blank.
2. If the TetherGPS Client is receiving location data, you will find a notification stating so. Otherwise, it will say no location data is received.
3. You might want to wait until your phone receive a GPS signal before turning on the TetherGPS Server.

Giant Android in Amsterdam smites cars, promotes the Android OS | Android Central

Besides Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondriaan, M.C. Escher, recreational drugs, prostitution, LGBT rights, euthanasia, and abortion (that should cover all art-loving liberals), our Dutch friends have yet another thing to be proud of. Yes, they have great taste! 34 perfect of Dutch smartphone users said they like Android, vs a mere 21% for the iPhone , and 17% for Windows Mobile.

Giant Android in Amsterdam smites cars, promotes the Android OS | Android Central: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Pocket Legends makes more money from Android than they do from iOS

It's about time. Apparently, one can make more money from Android than from iOS.

Spacetime Studios, developer Pocket Legends, claims that they are making more money from Android. Not only that, but they also see higher daily activity on Android, like 3 TIMES higher. Additional, Android users tend to spend% 30 to 50% more than iOS users. They also utilize mobile ads to promote their games and see Android generates 100% more clickthroughs than iOS. As a result, they stop advertising on Apple altogether and put all their marketing dollars onto Android (bad news for Apple, as their iAd platform isn't doing too well.)

This is inevitable, IMO. Android has been growing in a faster rate than iOS. At some points, there will be more total users running Android than iOS. At that point, all those perfect design talks from Apple fanboys will mean nothing. It's the math that counts. More users = more revenue, period. What I am surprise at is that the day comes so quick.

Source: ComputerWorld